Consumers who buy new electrical appliances generally contact the manufacturer or seller after purchase of the appliance, in order to register the appliance and thereby obtain a warranty. The warranty holds the manufacturer or seller responsible for defects in the appliance.
Currently registration is performed manually. Specifically, to register a new appliance a consumer generally needs to fill out registration forms and send them to the manufacturer or seller, either via regular postal service or electronically via the Internet. Registration includes information about the appliance and information about the owner of the appliance. Information about the appliance includes a serial number, a model number, a point of purchase and a date of purchase. Information about the owner includes name and contact details.
Registration of an appliance may be time consuming or cumbersome and, as a result, many consumers do not properly fill in and submit their registration forms. These consumers often discover, when a problem with the appliance arises, that they do not have valid warranties.
There is thus a need for automated methods and systems for registering new appliances.